A new carnation: Eremogone ali-gulii

The carnation family or Caryophyllaceae, is a large family of flowering plants with 2200 - 3000 species (estimates vary by author). The family is cosmopolitan but most species grow in the Mediterranean and bordering regions of Europe and Asia. The number species in the Southern Hemisphere is rather small, although the family does contain the Antarctic pearlwort (Colobanthus quitensis), the world's southernmost dicot, which is one of only two flowering plants found in Antarctica.

So not surprisingly, our new species was found in the Mediterranean, more precisely on the Kop mountain which is part of the Pontic Mountains in North Anatolia, Turkey. The new species was named in honour of the Turkish hydrobiologist Prof. Dr. Ali Gül.

For the experts: Eremogone ali-gulii (Caryophyllaceae) is described as a new species of Eremogone in Turkey. The specimens were collected from Kop Mountain (Erzurum). The new species is endemic of the Irano-Turanian region and is related to Eremogone scariosa and E. armeniaca. The differences on sterile shoots, habit, sepals and capsules between these species are discussed. Description, distribution, illustration and conservation status of the new species are given.